Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) on Tuesday said that he would organize a “Sunflower movement 2019” at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) insists on passing a proposed anti-infiltration bill by the end of the year.
If the DPP passes the bill on Tuesday next week, as it has said it would, he would lead a group of Taiwanese businesspeople to protest at the legislature, Gou told Coco Hot News, a talk show on Formosa Television
The protest would be in the fashion of the Sunflower movement, he said, adding that he would sleep at the legislature.
Photo: CNA
The bill is 10 to 20 times worse than a cross-strait service trade agreement that sparked the Sunflower movement and has never been properly discussed, he said.
Asked about a DPP campaign to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) legislator-at-large nomination of former general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), Gou said he believes the KMT can secure enough party votes for Wu — who is fourth on the nominee list — to receive a seat.
“If the KMT only secures three legislator-at-large seats, would that not make it even more minor than the Taiwan People’s Party?” he asked.
However, the campaign could still result in the KMT losing votes from some of its supporters and independent voters, Gou said.
Under such circumstances, the People First Party would be a better choice, he said.
Ideally, there should be two major parties and two minor parties, he added.
“It would be more effective to oppose [KMT Chairman] Wu Den-yih (吳敦義),” Yonglin Foundation chief executive officer Amanda Liu (劉宥彤) said, laughing, as Wu Den-yih is 14th on the KMT’s nominee list.
The issue would eventually be brought up, Gou said, adding that if the KMT loses the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections, it would be due to its system.
Later yesterday, Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) said that the bill would only crack down on those who have done harm to the nation.
The bill is designed to address infiltration of Taiwan, which has been perceived as a threat to the nation’s safety, she said.
Chen urged people to read the bill, saying: “Freedom and democracy are the DPP’s core values and we will not breach them.”
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that in promoting the bill, the government is fulfilling its responsibility to protect the nation and its people from foreign governments and organizations.
The bill is to be strictly reviewed and the DPP would offer explanations and clarifications where necessary, he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were